By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (August 19^th 2020) 

Scandal 

The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) became a byword for corruption as its then President, Sepp Blatter, was impeached and then banned from football in 2015.  

Gianni Infantino succeeded Blatter pledging to fight corruption. But FIFA has been no stranger to controversy over a century earlier. 

It faced a dispute that threatened its existence before it had existed for five years. There had been two Olympic Games Football Tournaments (1900 and 1904), neither of which are worthy of note. 1908 was a different matter, but before a ball had been kicked in London a crisis loomed. It resulted in a scandal. FIFA bowed to pressure and destroyed the development of football in a member country. It was the first major test of the fledgling governing body of football – FIFA failed it miserably. 

The Build Up 

The Bohemian Football Union was established in 1901. It joined FIFA in 1907. Bohemia had played international matches – it had clubs and competitions. One of the renowned clubs in Bohemia and then its successors, Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, is Bohemians 1905 FC – the number refers to the year that the club was established. 

Bohemia’s first international match was against Hungary on April 5^th 1903. They lost 2-1. It was before FIFA was founded. On April Fool’s Day 1906 they drew 1-1 against the same opposition. Six months later they held Hungary 4-4 – both Jan Starý-Jenny and Jan Košek scored braces in this match. 

That was followed by two defeats to Hungary in 1907, 5-2 and 5-3 – the year Bohemia joined FIFA. The honeymoon was disgracefully short-lived. In 1908 Bohemia, then a FIFA member, lost 5-2 to Hungary and in June played their final match before the Olympic Games Football Tournament against England, losing 4-0. 

Josef Bělka scored the penultimate official goal in Bohemia’s history – the last was scored by Ctibor Malý on April 5^th 1908. The summer came – Bohemia lost their tune-up match against England 4-0 on June 13^th 1908. The Olympic Games awaited or so they thought. 

Expelled 

Bohemia never got to play in the Olympic Games Football Tournament. And Hungary was absent too. It was claimed that Hungary’s absence was due to the effect of the Balkan Crisis, which had been caused by the annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina from the Ottoman Empire by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

The annexation, it was claimed, caused a political crisis in Europe that spilled over into the Olympic Games Football Tournament. That explanation doesn’t come close to passing the smell test.  

Austria didn’t enter the competition either. But Austria, Bohemia and Hungary sent competitors to both the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games in other sports. The absence of Bohemia, especially, requires credible explanation. 

Machinations  

Bohemia lost their membership of FIFA in 1908 through the machinations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – it’s clear which part of the Hapsburg Empire achieved that.  

Bohemia’s omission was sinister. The justification for the expulsion of Bohemia has never been adequately explained by FIFA. Austria objected, claiming that Bohemia was merely one of its territories – it wasn’t.  

So, was Bohemia a nation in its own right? History clearly says that it was. 

The Nation State 

The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 867 by Bořivoj I of the Přemyslid Dynasty. It included the famed Duke Wenceslaus (Václav) I – Good King Wenceslaus – even though he was only declared King after he was assassinated in 935. His younger brother Boleslaus I the Cruel was involved in the assassination.  

The Kingdom of Bohemia was established at the end of the 12^th Century – 1198 to be precise. 

Ottokar I was the first King of Bohemia.  

Strangely, given what happened nearly four centuries later, the King of Bohemia gained control of Hapsburg lands in 1526 as its King Ferdinand I was the Holy Roman Emperor and ruled Hapsburg lands on behalf of his brother, Charles V.  

The Hungarian, Austrian and Bohemian thrones separated for a century before uniting again. Gradually the Habsburgs became known as the Austrian Empire, and then Austro-Hungarian. 

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a nation – part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire –until it was dissolved in 1918. 

A Shameful Betrayal 

Bohemia had played both Hungary and England in 1908 before the Olympic Games. FIFA ran the Olympic competition and made the decision that expelled Bohemia on the basis that Bohemia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and not a nation.  

FIFA bowed to political pressure and expelled Bohemia in 1908 before the Olympic Games. The demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 proved FIFA wrong. If Bohemia was not a nation, why did the Kingdom of Bohemia share the fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I? 

The Kingdom of Bohemia clearly was a nation in its own right even if it had been part of the Habsburg Empire in its final years. It was replaced as a country by Czechoslovakia in 1918. Two years later the newly independent nation of Czechoslovakia made its Olympic bow in Antwerp.  

Austria and Hungary were among the nations banned from Belgium’s first Olympic Games. 

Expediency and Hypocrisy 

Bohemia’s request to play was rejected as it was not a member of FIFA – it had been expelled by FIFA and never got the chance to play in the Olympic Games Football Tournament. Austria was placated. 

Bohemia’s football was hindered in its development at a crucial stage. Bohemia’s athletes competed in the Olympic Games in London and Stockholm in 1908 and 1912. Austria and Hungary did so as well, but not in the football tournament.  

Bohemia deserved better. 

So, the decision in the football cannot be the IOC’s fault. Given FIFA’s decision – clearly one that was not shared by other sports, an important issue arises: why did it take the best part of seven decades to expel Apartheid South Africa and why were no other white supremacist nations expelled from FIFA?